Chapter 7: The Reunion
Tyler ran through a giant, sprawling parking garage that was several stories high. There were dozens of cars for him to hide around, but he refused to take any chances with the Feds right on his tail. Chambers and Marlow burst through one end of the level Tyler was running through just as he opened the door leading into the adjacent building. He quickly found his way to the stairwell and sprinted down the steps faster than he'd ever run before. Everything around him seemed to be drowned out by the sound of his beating heart. It felt like his heart was about to explode in his chest as he kicked down a door and dashed across the street.
A yellow taxi almost ran Tyler over, but he managed to run around it in time. Several steps behind him, Chambers and Marlow appeared and ran after him. Tyler made it across the street and accidentally bumped into a group of teenagers walking by. There was no time for apologies, though, as he saw the FBI agents closing in on him. Hurriedly looking left and right, Tyler headed down the right side of the street passed a shopping center.
"FBI! Out of the way!" Chambers shouted as he followed Tyler around a corner.
Sprinting, Tyler leaped over some shrubs and ran down a flight of stairs on his way across the street. Traffic was pretty bad in New York, especially at night when the entire city seemed to be out doing something. The street was crowded so much that none of the cars were even permitted to move an inch forward or backward. Tyler ran through the street, weaving around the cars in his way. Chambers and Marlow stopped and scanned the area for Tyler.
Chambers noticed Tyler speeding through traffic and pointed him out. "There! Suspect heading west on 53rd! I need backup!"
As Chambers and Marlow headed down the staircase, Tyler ran straight down the street. He turned his head for a second to get a good look at the agents. They were a few yards away, but Tyler knew if he slowed down now they'd surely catch up to him. Tyler hadn't been much of a runner, unlike Jay and Will, but he was still pretty fast. Endurance was never his thing, though. Sweat permeated his jacket and dripped down his face as he raced through traffic.
Boston, MA
Jimmy's blue Impala passed through a plastic covering and parked inside an abandoned warehouse. There were cargo boxes all around the warehouse along with plastic sheets that covered them. Jimmy parked the car in the middle of the building and stepped out. Playing with his keys, he headed over to a table on the far side of the room. Suddenly, he stopped when he heard the sound of a gun cocking echo through the spacious warehouse.
"Couldn't bring me in yourself, huh, Jimmy?" Will asked, training his gun on his former friend's back. He pushed the nozzle of the USP against the back of Jimmy's head. "Had to leave it to Alex?"
"Obviously there's been some kind of – uh – misunderstanding," Jimmy weaseled as he slowly reached for the gun on his waist.
The sneaky gun salesman swiftly turned around to shoot Will, but Will was much faster and more agile that Jimmy. He grabbed Jimmy's arm, twisted it, and slammed his back against the side of his Impala. The force of the hit made Jimmy toss the gun behind him. He tried to get away, but Will grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pushed him up to the car.
"Why'd you tell Alex I was coming? Somebody pay you?" Will demanded to know.
"C'mon, Will, I'm just a supplier to you guys!" Jimmy tensely replied. Will had the cold barrel of his gun pressed up against the bottom of Jimmy's head. He didn't feel like getting a hole put through his head any time soon. "Y-You know I don't ask questions."
With his elbow, Will jabbed Jimmy across the face. A painful groan escaped Jimmy's lips as he fell to the ground.
Manhattan, NY
The wide sidewalk was rather crowded with people walking up and down it. A hot dog vendor stood on the side of the street awaiting any customers. Tyler rushed through the sidewalk, prompting the other pedestrians to gaze over at him. He could already hear the approaching police sirens. Behind him, Chambers and Marlow were getting closer with each step. Tyler's legs were beginning to give way, but they were still able to carry him down the street to a small park. As his body trembled with fatigue, Tyler looked around for a place to hide. His tired eyes lit up at the sight of a metro bus across the street.
Up the street, Chambers and Marlow ran down a flight of stairs to catch up with Tyler at the park. Unfortunately for them, Tyler was nowhere in sight. Chambers spun around in a circle, searching for Tyler. He looked behind the fountain on the side, but there was no one there except for a man and woman. Marlow irately sighed and placed her hands on her hips.
"Any sign of him?" Marlow asked as the bus across the street drove off.
Chambers shook his head 'no' and grabbed his radio. "This is Chambers. We've lost Tyler Fog heading west on 55th Street."
Leaning against the corner in the back of the bus that just took off was Tyler. He ripped the black hat off his head and ran his callous fingers through his sweaty hair. Still breathing heavily, he stared out the back windshield at Chambers and Marlow.
"I want roadblocks, bridge and tunnel closures – whatever I can get! And tell NYPD I need bodies down here now!"
In the back of the bus, Tyler slouched back against his chair. There weren't too many people inside the bus at the time, just an old man, two teenage boys, a young black man, and a woman in a blue jean jacket. None of them looked back at Tyler as he clasped his hands over his face.
Boston, MA
Standing on top of the hood of Jimmy's car were Will and Jimmy himself. Jimmy had his hands tied behind his back with coarse rope while a noose was looped around his skinny neck. His face was turning red and blood dripped from his nose. Will held onto the noose with one hand as he pointed at Jimmy with the other.
"I'm gonna kill you, man," Jimmy bawled.
"This is your last chance to tell me what you know," Will said, ignoring Jimmy's pitiful threat.
"I told you, man, I don't know nothing, okay?! I don't know crap! I swear." Will shook his head and patted Jimmy on the chest. He hopped down from the hood of the car, prompting Jimmy to ask, "Where you goin', man?" Instead of answering, Will simply climbed into the driver seat and shifted the car into 'Reverse'. "What are you doin', Will?!" Jimmy cried. "Don't do it, okay! Please, Will!" The car began to back away; Jimmy's feet shook as he felt the only thing keeping his neck from snapping move out from under him. "Will, you don't wanna do this! Alright! Alright! I know somethin'! I know somethin', okay?! Somethin' about Maya!" Will stopped the car and opened the door to listen to Jimmy. "Okay, the guy that killed your girl – he stopped here for supplies on his way to Deer Harbor."
"Who is he?"
"I don't know!" Jimmy shouted. Will cruelly closed the door and started backing out again. "I don't know, okay?!" Jimmy's feet were already at the edge of the car. He could practically feel his neck splitting it half as the wheels screeched backwards. "No. No. Oh God! Okay! Okay!" Jimmy cried. Will put the car in 'Park' and opened the door again. Jimmy took a deep breath and answered, "I don't know his name. All I know is he's got brown hair and he's all inked up and he's outta New York. Okay? That's all I know."
Will stepped out of the car and slammed the door. He snatched the keys from the ignition and tossed them onto the hood of the car by Jimmy's feet. Mercilessly leaving Jimmy hanging, Will started for the exit. Jimmy could hear him walking away. He screamed, "We good, right?! Where you goin', Will?! What are you doin'? You gotta let me down! Will!"
Manhattan, NY
Tyler stood in the center of an empty park next to a phone booth. The park was fairly dark since there was only one street light near. A man passed by the payphone as Tyler dialed Kim's number. His heart sank as he heard her voicemail tell him, "You've reached Kim's cell. Leave a message."
"Please – uh – Kim, I-I don't know w-where Jay is, and-and I-I thought that you might. I-I don't know-I don't know if he was in there – in Eddie Hahn's – when the FBI got there. I went back to get him and-and I guess I was just – " Tyler's stammering was interrupted by the voice of the operator.
"If you are satisfied with your message, please press one," the operator told him. Apparently, his message had taken too long.
Tyler somberly pressed one on the telephone receiver before hanging the phone up. He quietly walked away from the phone booth and stood in front of the tiny pond beside him. With a dreary expression on his face, he felt like everything was coming down on him. First his father and now Jay; Tyler couldn't believe he was losing everyone in his life this quickly. He bit his lip to stifle his crying as he stared down at the pond. In the water, his solemn reflection looked back at him with mournful eyes.
Back at the spot where Tyler lost his tail, all the surrounding FBI agents encircled Chambers. The park was completely filled by FBI agents; however, surrounding the park were pedestrians watching the FBI and the cops. About four NYPD patrol cars were parked beside the park with their sirens swirling around.
"All agents and officers, gather round! If Fog is in the area, then Burchell must be close!" Chambers shouted over the commotion. "I want random vehicle checks in a three mile grid search! Anyone answering Fog's description, anyone wearing a hat, any male between the ages of sixteen and sixty – stop him, search him! Transit police are covering the subways. We are gonna get this guy tonight! Let's go!
Listening to Chambers' orders off to the side was Marlow. Her cellphone began to ring as Chambers finished barking out instructions. "Borjes, any news on Fog?" Marlow asked. She paused to listen to his response, then said, "I'll be right there."
A neon green sign reading 'Dewey Motel' lit up the entrance of a small motel in Manhattan. On the third floor, Jay took the card the motel manager gave him and stuck it into the slot above the doorknob. He twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open as a man in a black suit played with a drunken woman outside their own room. They disappeared into the corner as Jay went inside his room. He locked the door and turned on the lights to search for the TV.
Picking the remote up off the top of the TV, he turned to the news channel. A male reporter was standing in front of a small park that was surrounded by patrol cars. "From the scene of a foot chase that took place on the Upper East Side, FBI officials have refused to confirm reports that they were pursuing Drexler Bombing suspect, Tyler Fog," the reporter announced as the camera man switched the camera over to Agent Chambers who was speaking to some of his men, "saying only that Fog and suspect, Jay Burchell, are still at large."
Jay pressed the red button at the top of the remote, shutting the TV off. He took off the red hat he was wearing and played with it in his hands. Leaning forward against his knees, he gave off a dejected sigh.
"What do we got?" Marlow asked as she entered a tiny garage in a Federal impound lot.
Parked in the center of the garage was Tyler's red SUV. The driver and passenger side doors were both removed while the trunk was propped open. The hood had been removed as well, revealing the dusty silver engine in the heart of the car. A unit of FBI agents was surrounding the car, checking it for anything they could use to help speed up the investigation.
"NYPD spotted it in Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, brought it here. VIN number confirms that it's Fog's," Borjes notified Marlow.
Marlow craned her neck to look into the back of the SUV. "No idea when Fog left it there?"
"Street cleaning was yesterday. It would've been towed any time before that."
"And nothing inside that explains why they would've come back to New York?"
"Not that I can see," Borjes replied, looking into the cabin.
Marlow walked around to the front of the car as she wondered, "Why abandon the vehicle in Queens? Fog was in the Upper East Side, not exactly nearby. It doesn't track. Anything else?"
"You heard that surveillance picked up a phone message Fog left for Burchell's girlfriend?"
"Yeah. Sounds like Fog doesn't even know where Burchell is," Marlow replied, shaking her head. "Kim Doherty's from Queens, right?"
"Chambers said that he convinced her to move back in with her folks. You think this is just about Burchell's girl?"
Marlow answered with a raise of her eyebrows. Borjes squinted at her in response as she turned and left the garage.
New York
Somewhere in New York, at an internet café, Will was sitting at a computer. There was no one else inside the café except for the owner who was far too busy with his computer game to even notice Will. Behind Will, a large, white mechanism finished scanning something into the computer. A copy of the photo Kate left of Maya appeared on Will's computer screen.
As Will used one of the imaging program's tools to zoom into something in the picture, he could hear Maya's screams. The recording of the gunshot that took her life played on repeat in Will's head. No matter what he did, he couldn't get rid of it. He didn't plan on getting rid of it soon, though. It was his motivation – what kept him going. The magnified image on the screen was far too dark to be recognizable. However, Will messed around with the contrast of the photo to illuminate the image. Finally, he found what he needed – a picture of the trigger man's arm, which was covered in tattoos.
Will clicked the 'print' button on the screen and lay back in his chair. Staring at the trigger man's tattoos, he could hear himself vowing, "I'm gonna kill you, I swear to God!"
Queens, NY
The parents of Kim Doherty owned a nice, red house in the Queens borough of New York. The house wasn't very big, but was enough for Kim and her parents. The front porch light was on as Marlow walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Inside the house, Kim's father came down the stairs to answer the door.
"Mr. Doherty, I'm Agent Jan Marlow," Marlow introduced herself, flashing her badge.
Before Marlow could even finish, Kim's father pointed a finger at her and said, "No. No more! You have put my daughter through – "
"Sir, I know it's been a difficult time for your family, but I have some new information on Tyler Fog and Jay Burchell. If I could just talk to Kim –"
"Talk to my lawyer," Kim's dad retorted. He began to shut the door on Marlow, but Kim appeared from around the corner.
"Dad, wait!" Kim told him. "Let her in."
Kim's father turned to Marlow and glared at her angrily. Apprehensively, he complied with his daughter's wishes and sighed as he opened the door for Marlow.
Manhattan, NY
Like a ghost with no direction, Tyler abjectly walked down a street. He had no hat on and his hood was down; it seemed like he was just waiting for someone to notice him and call the cops. A melancholy expression was cast on his face as he wandered aimlessly about the street.
"This is about securing the future of this family!" Tyler remembered.
"Without me."
"You're not strong enough, Tyler," Tyler could hear his father telling him again and again.
Tyler stopped walking as soon as he saw a bar called O'Neil's Bar & Pub across the street. He headed over and stepped inside. The bar had a nice, friendly atmosphere. It was mostly occupied by men and women looking for a night of fun. No one in the bar seemed to be there by themselves except for Tyler. He took a seat at the bar and blankly stared forward at the rack of liquor in front of him. His mind was so preoccupied that he didn't even notice the cute bartender behind the bar. The bartender was a gorgeous young woman with curly black hair and brown eyes. She was about an inch shorter than Tyler and had a lean, curvy body. Clothing that amazing body was a black tank top and a short, denim skirt.
Wiping her hands with a white towel, she walked up to Tyler and asked, "Hey, what can I get ya'?"
Tyler looked up at her with a dull expression. He didn't say anything for a few seconds, but when he noticed the strange look forming on her face, he ordered, "Three shots of whiskey and a bottle of Cristal." The bartender nodded her head and turned to her rack of alcohols to get Tyler's drink. "Figure I'm goin' down, might as well dull the pain as much as possible, right?"
The bartender grabbed a bottle of whiskey, three shot glasses, and a bottle of Cristal, which she brought over in front of Tyler. "What's that?" she asked.
"Forget it," Tyler replied as the bartender popped the bottle open on his bottle of beer. He picked up the Cristal and began drinking it. Setting the shot glasses in a line, the bartender opened the bottle of whiskey to pour out Tyler's shots. Before she did so, though, she looked at Tyler. He noticed her staring at his face and said, "Yeah that's right. I'm him."
The bartender chuckled and poured the whiskey into the shot glasses. "Lemme guess, the man of my dreams, right? Swear I've heard that one before."
Tyler gazed at her with a confused look then realized she had no idea who he was. Laughing to himself, he nodded his head and replied, "Have you?"
The bartender nodded and mumbled, "Um hmm."
"Well, maybe this time it's true," Tyler said as he knocked down one of the shots. The bartender smiled back at him and walked away to help her other customers.
Queens, NY
Kim set down a glass of water in front of Marlow who sat at one end of the table in Kim's kitchen. "Thanks."
"You have any news about Jay?" Kim quickly asked. The expression on her face told Marlow she didn't want anything to do with her, but she would put up with it if it meant getting any more info on Jay.
"Tyler Fog was spotted in Manhattan," Marlow told her.
"The news said that wasn't him."
"It was Tyler," Marlow declared. "We found his car less than a mile from here. Finger prints place Jay inside."
"Wait, Jay's here?" Kim gasped. She sat down on the chair beside Marlow to keep herself from tipping over.
"Well that's what we're trying to determine," Marlow replied. She expected for Kim to know Jay had returned, but from the astonished face Kim wore, Marlow could tell she had no clue. "Have you heard from Jay or seen him in the last twenty-four hours?"
"N-No."
"What about Tyler? Have you heard from him?"
"No."
Marlow nodded and took a drink from her cup of water. Standing up, she continued, "It must be hard having your family around in the middle of all this." She picked up a picture frame holding a photograph of Kim's dad and her when she was little.
"I guess. My dad's a little – uh – well you met him," Kim replied.
"He just wants to protect you," Marlow said as she smiled down at the photo. She set the picture frame back down and added, "Just like you wanna protect Jay. Thing is, you can't protect him, but I can. I can protect him. As long as he's on the run, he's a moving target, but if he turns himself in –"
"Then what?" Kim intervened.
"I can help him, see that he's treated fairly, that proper procedure is followed when he comes in. That doesn't always happen with terror suspects." Marlow looked at Kim who had a grim expression on her face. She swallowed and sniffed as Marlow comfortingly said, "Something else Kim, I know you were telling the truth about Will Traveler."
Kim's eyes brightened as soon as she heard it. She wanted to smile, but all the other dour emotions she was feeling prevented it. "What?"
"I know Will exists and I think he's still alive. And if you're right that he set Jay and Tyler up in the Drexler, then I think Will might still be a threat to them." Kim hung her head low and nibbled on her fingernails. Marlow jumped to her feet and pulled out her wallet. Inside was her business card with all her contact information on it. "If Jay does try to contact you, give me a call – day or night."
Manhattan, NY
Disheartened and downhearted, Tyler sat at a lonely booth with his back against the wall. His hand was glued to a bottle of beer set down on the table while his face was fixed to a hopeless, miserable expression. He had been sitting there quite some time drowning himself in liquor. There were six empty shot glasses in front of him along with two empty bottles of beer. As he stared down glumly at the empty shot glasses, his mind wandered back into the past.
New Haven, CT – 10 Months Ago
There was a noisy party happening in one of the grad houses at New Haven. There was a large crowd of people in and outside the house drinking beer, listening to music, and just having a plain, good time. In the living room, Tyler was holding onto a glass of champagne as he sweet-talked a stunning, blonde girl.
Tyler leaned towards the girl as she asked, "Does this routine usually work for you 'cause – "
"Wait! Wait! No! Routine? Killer," Tyler laughed.
As Tyler proceeded to flirt with the girl another college student with black hair and mustache came over to the girl and wrapped his arm around her head and shoulders. "Let's get outta here, baby," he told her as he pulled her away from Tyler.
"Wait, this is what you call, okay? Seriously?" Tyler asked the chick.
The girl shook her head and tried to say something to Tyler, but her boyfriend let go of her and got in Tyler's face. "What? You got a problem, bro?"
"No. No. Nuh uh, I don't. 'Cause while you over there drinking shots, I was over here enjoying this beautiful woman's company," Tyler replied. He smiled at the blonde girl who inconspicuously smiled back at him. "So, I think it's you that's got the problem."
"Oh, I got a problem, huh? I got the problem?!" the boyfriend tauntingly asked, stepping towards Tyler. He looked as if he was ready to pound Tyler's head into the ground.
From across the room, Jay saw the two about to tussle and ran over to stop it. He pushed Tyler and the other man away from one other and shouted, "Whoa! Whoa! No one's got a problem! No one's got a problem, alright?"
The blonde girl grabbed her boyfriend and began to push him out of the house. As he was dragged away by his girlfriend, he continued taunting Tyler. "C'mon, skinny, you and me, let's go! Let's take this outside!"
"Yeah. There's the door! Seeya!" Tyler replied, mockingly waving 'goodbye' at him.
"Hey," Jay said, grabbing Tyler.
"Dude, what is your problem? I had that," Tyler said arrogantly.
"Oh you had that?! Easy, tough guy. That guy had thirty pounds on you!"
"Please, I got skills. I could've handled him," Tyler scoffed, taking a drink from his wine glass.
Jay grabbed Tyler by the hand, bringing the glass away from his lips. "I think you need to quit pulling this kind of crap 'cause one of these days I might not be around to save your ass."
Brought back to the present, Tyler stared out into nothingness. His hand still on the beer bottle, he looked around. He hoped to see Jay there; he knew it was unlikely, but there was no harm in wishing. Gulping, he pursed his lips; tears felt like they were about to stream down his eyes. He softly banged the back of his head against the wall and rested his eyes.
Queens, NY
A Chinese delivery boy parked his silver Toyota outside Kim's parents' house. Carrying a brown paper bag, he ran up the steps and rang the doorbell. Kim opened the door and greeted him.
"Hi," she said. The delivery boy pushed the bag into her hands, but she pushed it back. "I didn't order anything."
"It's already been paid for," the delivery boy told her. He pulled the receipt out from his jacket pocket and read the name, "Kim Doherty?"
"Yeah, but I didn't order any – "
"It's already been paid for," the delivery boy urged. He shoved the bag into her hands one more time and left.
Standing at her doorway, Kim looked down at the paper bag with a quizzical look. Stapled onto the front of the paper bag was a piece of paper with Kim's name on it. It was folded over so she unfolded it and read the note inside.
New York FBI Field Office
Chambers entered the bullpen with several other FBI agents behind him. Like a heat-seeking missile, he headed straight for Marlow and said, "You should've told me you were gonna question Kim Doherty."
"I didn't plan on it, sir, but when we found Fog's car, I put two and two together. I didn't wanna waste any time," Marlow replied.
"Waste time? What about all the time I've spent cultivating Doherty as a witness, Marlow? You consider that a waste?" Chambers asked. At a desk, Borjes looked up; he heard Chambers and Marlow bickering and wanted to see what was up.
"Sir, I – "
"What are you trying to do? Make yourself look better? Cut me out of the loop?"
"No."
"Good. Don't."
Queens, NY
It was fairly late now so Kim started to turn off all the lights in her parent's home. Her parents had fallen asleep about an hour ago. She walked over to a window and looked between the curtains. A gold sedan was parked outside across the street. It wasn't very subtle since Kim already knew it was the FBI watching her. Inside, the driver watched her home with a pair of binoculars while his partner drank a cup of coffee.
Kim headed down the stairs and turned off the light by the foyer. She walked across the hallway to the kitchen. There was a door there that led to the backyard. Stealthily, she turned the doorknob quietly and snuck out the house. Tossing her purse over the fence, she grabbed the ledge and lifted her body over. Half her body dangling on the other side of the fence, she looked back at her house. All the lights were still turned off so no one had noticed she had left. Taking a deep breath, she climbed over to the other side of the fence and dropped down onto the sidewalk.
Manhattan, NY
The bartender grabbed a receipt from the cash register and made her way towards Tyler's booth. He was still sitting there, looking despondent and wretched. She flashed him a gorgeous smile and said, "Listen, my shift's ending. If you wouldn't mind settling your tab…" She set the receipt down in front of him and smiled again.
Tyler looked down at the receipt and picked it up. He hadn't noticed, but he spent an ample amount of money on booze. Chuckling on the inside, he set the receipt back on the table and looked up at the bartender.
The bartender furrowed her brow then started laughing. "Anyone ever tell you you look like that bomber guy?"
Tyler slowly nodded and replied, "Yeah. Yeah, I been gettin' that a lot this week."
Seductively, the bartender's smile turned into a look of temptation and leaned her back against the table. Sitting on the edge of it, she grasped the bottom of the table and bit her lower lip. Tyler looked at her; he had no idea what she was doing, but he liked it. The two smiled at one another as their eyes met.
Kim arrived at the apartment Jay had rented earlier in the night. She looked down at the piece of paper from the bag just to make sure she had the right room. It was room number eight alright. She knocked on the door and Jay quickly opened it. He hastily grabbed Kim and pulled her into the room. As quickly as he had opened it, he slammed the door shut behind Kim.
Locking the door, Jay smiled at Kim and whispered, "I wasn't sure if you were gonna come."
"Neither was I," Kim replied. There was an angry expression on her face that Jay couldn't understand.
"I missed you," he said, nonetheless.
He reached for a kiss, but Kim denied him. She grabbed his forearms and pulled them away from her face. "Jay!" she uttered.
Surprised, Jay put his hands down to his sides and looked Kim in the eyes. "What? What is it?"
"I don't know," Kim said through gritted teeth. She walked over to Jay's bed and dropped her purse on it.
Jay followed her and said, "Hey, it's me! You can talk to me about it. Please! Please!"
Kim turned to him, her eyes almost filled with tears. "It's just, you don't know what it's been like since you've left."
"I know. I know it hasn't been easy for you. I'm sorry." Jay put his hands on Kim's shoulders and continued, "I've got a plan, and soon, everything-everything will get back to normal."
"Normal?" Kim repeated. "Nothing is normal, Jay! Everything is different! Everything is gone!"
"No…"
"Yes, it is! Your career, my career – gone! Our apartment – gone! Our life together – gone. Because-Because you ran!" Kim screamed. The bitter tone of her voice hurt Jay, but he loved her too much to let it get to him. Kim covered her mouth then rubbed her forehead.
"I promised I'd come back for you and I did," Jay said, holding Kim close to him.
He clasped one hand on the left side of her face. A tear dropped from her eye as she touched Jay's hand. Jay grabbed her other cheek with his right hand and leaned in for a kiss. Kim kissed him back and put her arms around his waist. They froze for a moment and looked at one another with passionate eyes.
New Haven, CT – 18 Months Ago
Jay held onto the black wireless telephone and looked at it like he was going to call someone. However, he'd been staring at the phone for about two minutes now without doing anything. In his right hand, he had a piece of paper with Kim's number scribbled on it. He had transplanted it from his palm to the piece of paper once he got home from the Hideaway a couple nights ago. Even though he wanted to, he still hadn't found the time, or the courage, to make the call.
"You're thinkin' 'bout calling that girl from the bar aren't you?" Will asked from the recliner. He put his magazine down and looked over at Jay who sat at the dining table. He'd been sitting there for some time, doing nothing. Jay looked back at Will and raised his eyebrows. "Lemme give you some advice: don't. It's not worth it, man."
"What do you mean it's not worth it? It's a chick," Jay said.
"I doubt she was even that pretty."
"You didn't even see her! And if you did, you were probably too drunk to know what she looked like," Jay retorted.
"Trust me, Jay, never ever go on a date with a girl you met at a bar," Will replied.
"Why not, huh?"
"Okay. For one, it's not classy for women to be on the lookout for guys at bars. Two, women you meet at bars are either sluts or transvestites," Will answered. "Exhibit A, Roxy – that girl Ty met at the Hideaway last month. Remember her?"
"Roxy was a psycho and she cheated on Tyler with two different guys."
"Exactly. You don't wanna be go out with a girl like that!"
"Kim-Kim's not like that," Jay said.
"How do you know? You've talked to her once," Will countered.
"That's why I have to call her – to see what she's like!"
"Do you wanna know what number three is?" Will asked.
"No."
Completely ignoring Jay, Will went on, "Three, a man has never met a woman at a bar and fallen in love with her."
Jay made a perplexed look at Will and asked, "How could you possibly know that?" Will lifted up the Time Magazine he was reading and smiled. Jay chuckled and shook his head. "I doubt Time Magazine gives out dating tips."
Will watched as Jay looked at the scrap of paper and began to dial Kim's number. "Don't do it, man," Will said, shaking his head.
"Too late," Jay whispered as he listened to the phone ringing on the other end. An excited smile formed on his face as he waited for an answer.
"Hello?" Kim answered.
"Hey, Kim, it's – " The line suddenly cut off. Jay listened to the call dropping and looked down at the telephone. The phone's battery was still full so it couldn't have been that. He turned around and saw Will standing by the phone jack holding the cord. "What the hell, Will?!"
"I'm tellin' you, Jay, don't do it," Will said as he dropped the phone.
Jay slammed the telephone on the dining table and stomped over to Will. Getting up in his face, Jay growled, "I'm calling this girl, Will. I like her, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. Okay?"
Will sighed and looked up at Jay with a defeated look. Raising his hands in surrender, he shook his head and walked away. Jay bent down and put the cord back into the phone jack as he watched Will climb up the staircase.
Jay listened to the phone ring again. "Hello?" Kim answered one more time.
"Hey, Kim, it's Jay."
"Oh, hi, Jay! How are you?" Kim joyfully asked. "I didn't think you'd call."
"And miss the chance to talk to you again? Never!"
Nearly an hour later, Jay and Kim were lying naked in bed, enfolded in white blankets and sheets. Jay's right arm hugged Kim around the shoulders and held her close to him. They remained silent for a few seconds and just stared into each other's eyes. Kim finally broke the silence as she turned to her side.
"I got a message," she revealed, "from Tyler."
Alarmed, Jay sat up and asked, "What'd he say?"
"That he was looking for you."
"He say where he was?"
Kim shook her head and said, "No."
Jay sighed and lay back down on his back. Staring up at the stained white ceiling, he told Kim, "Carlton Fog set us up."
"What?!" Kim shouted. She'd known Carlton Fog to be a snake, but to betray his own son, he had to be the most worthless person there was.
"He knew about the Drexler Bombing in advance. Tyler didn't wanna believe it, but I'm pretty sure Carlton Fog's been in on this from the beginning."
"Tyler's father? That's – "
"Crazy. I know. I know," Jay replied. He closed his eyes and rubbed them. "I don't know if I can do this on my own."
Kim grabbed Jay's face and turned it to look at her. She got up close to him and laid down on his chest. "You don't have to," she told him as she began to caress his face. "That woman from the FBI came to see me today." Jay immediately sat up, brushing Kim's fingers aside. A shocked look came over his face. "Wait, Jay. She knows about Will! I think she believes there's more to this – that it's not your fault!"
Jay scratched his head vigorously and sat straight up. Turning his head, he asked, "Did you bring your camera like I asked?"
"Yeah." Kim turned over and put on Jay's green sweater. Unzipping the purse, she grabbed her camera, while Jay looked for his backpack.
"We found this stuff in Will's lock box," Jay said as he tossed out the contents of his backpack. He grabbed a tiny memory card that was locked in a plastic case and showed it to Kim.
While Jay shoved the memory card into Kim's digital camera, she picked up Will's fake passports. Opening one of them, she read the name off and said, "Wow, Will sure had us fooled."
Jay turned the camera on and tried to look at the contents of the memory card. Nothing showed up, though, but a black screen. "Damn," he muttered.
"What?"
"There aren't any pictures on this."
Kim took the camera from Jay and looked at it. "You're right, it doesn't have any pictures, but it does have an audio file." She navigated through the camera and played the audio file.
"There is one aspect of this that we haven't discussed, and that's your roommates. They will be framed for the bombing and they are expected to die in the blast," Jay and Kim listened to Joseph state.
"Oh my God," Kim mumbled. She looked up at Jay who looked as surprised as she did.
"Is that gonna be a problem for you?" the recording continued.
"No. Not at all," Will answered. Jay bit his lip angrily and shook his head.
"Good because there is no room for error, Will. The Drexler's just the first step in a much larger plan. Your country appreciates it."
It was enough to hear Joseph say he and Tyler were supposed to die in the Drexler, but Jay was caught off guard even more by the fact that the Drexler was only the first step. His jaw slackened and nearly dropped to the floor. Bug-eyed, he turned to Kim who was covering her mouth in awe.
New York FBI Field Office
"Thanks."
Borjes hung up the phone at his desk as he looked at the computer screen. Shown on the monitor was the escapee's profile. Borjes bit at one end of his pen as Marlow walked up to his desk.
"You think Burchell and Fog coming to New York has anything to do with our John Doe?" she asked him.
"Otis Whaley? Possible," Borjes said as he stood up. He and Marlow started walking as he continued, "I got NYPD watchin' the apartment where we found him. Still no hits on the BOLO."
As they strolled down the hallway, Marlow suddenly grabbed Borjes by the wrist and said, "Come here." Marlow opened a door to the viewing room of an interrogation room, which she and Borjes entered. Making sure no one could hear them, Marlow asked, "You tell anybody he was a Fed?"
"Not yet. I'm still waiting to see if any of our leads pan out, but I think Chambers oughta' know, don't you?" Borjes replied.
"Of course, it's just," she began apprehensively.
"What?"
"It's just that I think it might be a good idea to keep a lid on this for a while – pursue it on our own," Marlow recommended. "Call it an instinct – "
"An instinct? We're talking about defying procedure here!"
"We're talking about an ex-FBI agent who escaped from our custody and killed one of our people," Marlow interceded. "He's a subject of interest in the Drexler Bombing. What if this guy still has contacts inside the agency? The minute you send this up the chain of command…"
"Whaley and his contacts start covering their tracks," Borjes guessed. He scratched the bottom of his chin and sighed. He hated these kind of situations; people called them double-edged swords. They could either defy procedure, keeping Whaley sloppy; or follow the rules and possibly lose Whaley's tracks. Borjes crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the one-way mirror as Marlow knowingly stared at him.
Manhattan, NY
Jay, wearing a black sweatshirt, moved aside the curtains to look outside. Fortunately, the authorities hadn't discovered he was staying at the Dewey Motel. He turned to Kim and asked, "Why would Will keep a recording that implicates him in the Drexler Bombing… and in this much larger plan?"
"What does that even mean?" Kim wondered. To think the Drexler Bombing – something so horrible and dangerous – was only step one to a bigger plot terrified Kim. "More bombings?" she guessed.
"I don't know. Maybe," Jay replied. He scratched the top of his idea, hoping an idea would come to him. His eyes lit up brightly as he remembered what Kim said about Marlow. Grabbing a plastic bag from the dresser, he swept all of Will's belongings from the lock box into the bag.
"What are you doing?" Kim asked.
"Going to the FBI."
Happily laughing, Kim grabbed Jay's face kissed him on the forehead. "Yes, that is the right thing to do," she told him. Jay smiled back at her as he tied opened the memory card slot on Kim's camera. "They almost caught Tyler today. It is just a matter of time. Agent Marlow said that she could help protect you."
"Protect me?"
"She said if you turned yourself in – "
"No," Jay interrupted her. "Turning myself in is not exactly what I had in mind."
The jovial look on Kim's face sunk as she listened to Jay's words. Whatever Jay had planned, though, she was going to stick by him.
Brooklyn, NY
Carter's Ink was a small tattoo parlor in the Brooklyn borough. It was a simple, one-story building with a small waiting area and the deck where clients got inked. All around the shop were neon signs that made sure everyone knew this was a tattoo parlor. One of the walls was covered in sketches of tattoos people had gotten over the years Carter's Ink was in business. It was rather late at night now so no one was in the shop except for the owner, one employee, and a client he was working on. The topless woman laid on a bed on her chest as the tattoo-artists tattooed her back. She already had several tattoos pervading her body, such as a dragon wrapped around her left calf and a tribal symbol on her left shoulder.
The front door opened and in walked Will Traveler. He looked over at the cash register, where the owner, Carter, was sitting at. "Ed Carter?" Will asked.
Carter looked up from the tattoo he was designing and said, "That's me." Carter was a short, stocky man with a pair of sleeves – tattoos that covered his arms from shoulder to wrist. He had a military buzz cut and wore a black vest over a dark brown t-shirt.
"You work late," Will said as he unzipped his black jacket.
"You'd be surprised at the number of people who get drunk and decide they want a tattoo at one in the morning. I'm just happy to help 'em out," Carter replied. He saw Will pulling out a folded piece of paper from the inner pocket of his jacket. He figured Will was gonna show him a drawing of a tattoo he wanted, so he asked, "First tat?"
Instead of answering, Will unfolded the piece of paper and showed Carter the magnified picture of the trigger man's tattooed arm. "I'm told this is your work."
Carter examined the tattoo and frowned to himself. "You know, it is getting a little late," he said, refusing to respond.
"But you just said – "
"Thing is: my time's valuable," Carter snarled. He got up and started to leave as he told Will, "And you're not a paying customer."
Will reached inside his jacket one more time and whipped out the FBI badge he'd stolen from Watkins. He pushed the badge right into Carter's eyes, making his heartbeat race. Carter straightened up and smirked in defeat. "I know you're not lookin for a bribe, Ed."
Carter shook his head and sighed, "No. Not me." Smirking, Will handed him the picture and raised his eyebrows at him. Carter took a good look at the picture and gave up, "Yeah, I did those."
"On who?"
"Guy's called Martin."
"That a first name or a last name?"
"Don't know."
Will rolled his eyes and moved his head in a circular motion. Licking his lips, he asked, "When'd you do his tattoos?"
"Still doin' 'em," Carter answered. "Takes a while to do a sleeve that elaborate. There's only so much pain a guy can take. Then again, Martin's got a higher tolerance for pain than most."
Will looked passed Carter as he listened to him. The small TV beside the cash register was displaying the news, which showed mug shots of Jay and Tyler. Snapping back to reality, Will asked, "When'd you see him last?"
"About a week ago. He's in and out of town so it's takin' me a while to finish."
"You know where I can find him?" Will asked.
Carter leaned towards Will and said under his breath, "They say he stays there – the Hotel Regal."
"Thanks."
Will turned around and started for the door. Watching him, Carter waited for him to disappear down the street before he picked up a cellphone and dialed someone's number.
Queens, NY
Maya was back at her parents' home. They hadn't even noticed she'd left. She turned the lights on in the kitchen and picked up the silver telephone. With Marlow's business card in one hand, she dialed her cellphone number. The phone began to ring.
"Hi, Kim. Everything okay?" Marlow asked.
"I need to talk… in person," Kim said.
"I'm on my way," Marlow quickly replied.
Kim nodded triumphantly to herself and hung up the phone.
New York FBI Field Office
Borjes' eyes drifted up at Marlow as she walked passed him on her way to Kim's. He quickly jumped to his feet and followed Marlow across the room. "Whoa! Where you goin'?"
"Kim Doherty!" Marlow answered. "She's seen Jay, I know it."
"Well hold on. I'll roll with you."
"I don't wanna spook her. If it checks out, I'll call you in," Marlow replied as she pushed through the door.
Left behind once again, Borjes hung his head low and looked down at the tiled floor of the Field Office. It was getting tiresome to constantly be left back at the office while everyone else got to do something constructive.
"Borjes!" someone yelled from behind. Borjes turned around to see an Asian agent calling to him. "We've got three Tyler Fog sightings within a two block radius between 42nd Street and 8th Avenue all through the last five minutes!"
"Make that four," a female agent said as she passed a piece of paper to Borjes.
"Everybody, let's go!" Borjes shouted as he entered another room.
"Pull up live feeds of every traffic camera in the area!" Chambers commanded.
Chambers and Borjes entered a room enclosed by computers and monitors. The two agents walked up to a wall of monitors playing the live feeds Chambers had called for. Some screens showed cars driving through traffic while others displayed pedestrians walking up and down the streets. Chambers' eyes followed one of the monitors. It showed Tyler Fog walking down a street with his right arm around the bartender's shoulders.
"There!" Chambers pointed out. "Who is that girl? Get me a visual ID cross-check with the DMV. I want her name, I wanna know where she lives – everything about her!"
The monitors around the one showing Tyler all transformed to show a magnified video of Tyler and the bartender. The computer in front of the wall of monitors displayed a zoomed-in image of the bartender's face as the Korean agent searched for her identity.
"Where are they?" Chambers asked.
"Forty-third and 7th, heading south," the agent answered.
"Alright, I want all available agents on the scene, and notify all local police units in the area now." Chambers glanced back at the monitor and stared at Tyler's face. To himself, he said, "We got him."
Thirty seconds later, the monitor was still showing Tyler and the bartender taking a stroll through Times Square. Chambers' face was turning red; he was noticeably angry that no police or FBI agents had shown up at the scene yet.
"Forty-seventh and 2nd heading east," Borjes noted.
"Times Square – where are all the damn cops?!" Chambers wondered.
"All units in the area have been notified, sir. It should be any second now," the Korean agent replied.
"They're not goin' anywhere," Borjes confidently said. "It's a live feed, right?"
"There is a thirty second streaming delay."
Borjes and Chambers had thought it was a live feed the entire time. They looked up at one another and traded somewhat concerned glances. Looking at the monitor again, they watched as Tyler jokingly dragged the bartender down the stairs to the subway.
"Notify transit police! Suspend all subway service out of Times Square!" Chambers ordered.
"Almost every line in the city goes through there. With a thirty second lead…"
"Fog could be anywhere in the city by now," Chambers finished. Turning around, he angrily shook his head and cursed, "Damn it!"
Queens, NY
A knocking at her front door notified Kim that Agent Marlow had arrived. She crossed the living room and opened the front door. "Agent Marlow," she muttered.
"Should we talk inside?" Marlow asked, holding onto the door frame.
Kim stopped her from stepping into her parents' house and said, "Actually – uh – no, I can't talk. I have to get going. I tried to call."
"I didn't get a message," Marlow replied.
"Sorry." Kim immediately closed the door. Marlow didn't even have time to react as the front door slammed on her face. Through the oval-shaped glass on the door she could see Kim speedily walking towards the kitchen.
Manhattan, NY
While the bartender, whose name was Liz, fumbled with her keys to open the door to her apartment, Tyler grasped her waist and nibbled at her neck. She managed to open the door and grab Tyler's face at the same time. She began to kiss him on the lips as he pushed the door open. The two staggered into the apartment as they were still making out. Liz kicked the door behind her so it would close while Tyler dragged her across the foyer.
"Sorry," Tyler garbled as he kicked over a trash can. His words were muffled, though as his lips were still locked around Liz's.
She giggled and started kissing Tyler's neck as Tyler tossed his black jacket to the floor. Tyler grabbed Liz by her face and kissed her while she unzipped the gray hoodie he had on underneath the jacket. Once she got the hoodie off, she pushed Tyler's body onto her bed. Giggling, she jumped on top of him and continued wrapping her lips around his.
New York FBI Field Office
Chambers and Borjes were still monitoring the video feeds while the other agents around the room scrambled to figure out where Tyler was going. Chambers looked at a video of Tyler and Liz passing by the subway and instructed the Korean agent, "Stop. Push in."
The agent zoomed in on the image again. Chambers stared at the girl's face and asked, "Got a name on this girl yet?"
"So far no matches with the DMV," the agent answered.
Chambers angrily sighed and exited the room. Borjes chased him outside and asked, "Sir, doesn't it strike you as odd?"
"What?" Chambers asked, pausing for Borjes to catch up.
"Doesn't it strike you as odd that in the middle of all this, Tyler Fog is on a date?" Borjes questioned.
Chambers shrugged and prepared to answer. However, a man in a navy blue suit appeared to his left and said, "We need to talk."
Chambers glanced at Borjes then turned to the man. "Certainly," he said as he followed the man into his own office.
Borjes walked back into the computer room and directed his agents, "Bring it back up. Maybe we missed something."
"Who was that?" the Korean agent asked Borjes.
"Robert Cole, head of OPR, handles employee misconduct," Borjes answered.
"I thought Cole was out of DC."
Borjes turned around to look through the window at Chambers' office. He was seated on the edge of his desk as Cole spoke to him about something. They seemed quite calm for two people discussing misconduct.
"What's he doing here?" the Korean agent wondered.
"I don't know." Borjes looked down at the agent's desk and saw Otis Whaley's mug shot. He wondered if Cole was there about Whaley.
Brooklyn, NY
The Hotel Regal was anything but; it was a drab, shabby-looking hotel that stood five floors. The large marquee protruding from the front of the hotel read 'Hotel Regal' in bright, neon red lights. Under the marquee, the front door opened and a man with somewhat long, dark brown hair and hazel eyes walked out. The man wore nothing but a black tank top and blue jeans. As he strode down the street, the man, Martin, slipped his arms through a black jacket and adjusted the collar.
Across the street, Will Traveler stared at the man's arms; there was an incomplete sleeve on his left arm matching the tattoos on the picture. Attentively observing Martin, Will looked down both sides of the street and headed across.
Manhattan, NY
Tyler was standing at the edge of Liz's bed, putting his jeans on. He picked his white t-shirt up off the floor while Liz quietly slept naked on her bed. Tyler solemnly looked at her before turning around and leaving her room. He shut the double doors leading to her bedroom and searched for the rest of his clothes. The gray hoodie was on the floor right back the bedroom and his black jacket was in front of the front door. As he picked up the jacket, his eyes caught the sight of a newspaper sitting on Liz's coffee table.
Walking over to it, Tyler saw his and Jay's photograph on the front page with the title 'Drexler Bombers' under it. The photograph was an old one taken about one year ago. Tyler had his arm slung around Jay's shoulder while Jay flashed a grin at the camera. Tyler couldn't remember the last time he smiled like that. He and Jay looked so kind and peaceful; it was hard to think anyone could call them terrorists.
Tyler picked the newspaper up and unfolded it. At the bottom of the front page was a smaller picture of Carlton Fog. Beside it, in red, were Fog's own words: "I just wanted to help my son."
Tyler scoffed at the quote as he remembered speaking to his father earlier in the day. "Just tell me, Dad, that you didn't try to have us killed."
"This is the real world, Tyler," Tyler remembered hearing. "And there are choices that have to be made, and some of those choices are bigger than you."
Tyler dropped the newspaper back on the coffee table and looked around the room. He found a computer sitting at a small table in the corner. The computer was already turned on, so all Tyler had to do was double-click on the icon of an orange fox swirled around the Earth. The 'Google' webpage popped up and Tyler typed in 'Carlton Fog'. Thousands of search results popped up with Carlton Fog's name bolded in them. Tyler clicked on the first one and started to read it.
Queens, NY
Marlow sat outside in a black sedan with another FBI agent beside her. A yellow cab drove by their car and parked in front of Kim's house. She picked up her radio and said into it, "This is Marlow. I'm on this one. Watch the house."
"Roger that," an agent replied.
Running down the steps of her porch, Kim hopped inside the cab. It took off as Marlow went into 'Drive' and followed after her.
Brooklyn, NY
Martin's heavy, black boots splashed across the dark, damp alleyway. Tiny pellets of rain dropped around him as he walked down the alley. Behind, Will peeked at him through a corner. Quickly, he ran across the alley and around the building. Martin heard soft footsteps coming from behind and turned around. However, there was no one there. Humming to himself, Martin continued down the alley. Suddenly, Will popped out of the corner and grabbed Martin by the collar of his jacket.
With all his strength, Will tossed Martin over his shoulder and dropped him on the ground. Martin's body fell into a puddle, splashing muddy water around the two. He quickly rolled away and hopped to his feet though. Raising his fists up to fight, he taunted Will.
"C'mon!"
Martin was about to throw a kick, but Will kicked his leg back to the ground then attacked his chest, knocking him back into a metal garage door. Martin chuckled at the sneak attack and prepared to fight Will. Will threw a punch at Martin's chest, but Martin blocked and hooked Will right in the side. It didn't seem to faze Will, though, as he fought back. Unfortunately, Martin caught his right arm and held it in an arm lock while he jabbed Will in the face. He went for another hit, but Will got out of the hold and uppercut Martin. His head flew up as Will punched him in the gut. Martin tried to throw a punch, but Will caught his fist and tried to twist it. Pulling away, Martin got out of Will's grasp and grabbed him by the neck and armpit.
Martin slammed Will's body against the garage door twice then brought him down. Swinging his knee upwards, Martin caught Will in the gut several times before throwing him against the door again. Grunting, Will fought back and punched Martin across the face. Martin threw a right hook at Will's side, but Will blocked with his palm and pushed his opponent's arm away. He punched Martin in the face again then grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the metal door. Martin jabbed at Will's head one more time, but Will sidestepped. He grabbed Martin by the shoulder and kicked him directly in the right kneecap. Martin's knee gave way and he fell to the ground.
Moaning in agony, he grabbed at his shattered knee. Blood coming out his nose and leaking out his mouth, Martin grunted and groaned as his body rocked back and forth. Standing over him, Will pulled the USP .45 from his holster and crouched down in front of Martin. Martin held his hands up in defense and whimpered as Will clutched his collar and pointed the gun at his neck.
"You killed her," Will told Martin with deep, red blood coming through his white teeth.
"Who?!" Martin asked.
"Maya."
"I don't know who you're talkin' about," Martin replied shakily.
"That's the worst part."
Martin looked up at Will and realized who he was – a soldier hired to do their superiors' bidding just like him. "Hometown," he mumbled. "Then you know I was followin' orders!"
"Who gave the order?" Will wanted to know. Martin looked away from him and started to chuckle painfully. Will throttled him and demanded, "I said, who gave the order?!" He grabbed Martin's hair and pulled it so he'd look him in the eye. "Who are we working for?!"
"F-Freed!" Martin grunted. "Freed gives all the orders. Look, Hometown's been shut down for two years! Freed used us for his own agenda! You don't want me. Huh? Go after Freed. You got somethin' he wants. Please."
Will let go of Martin, letting his head bang against the concrete ground. He pulled his gun away from Martin's neck too as he stood up and walked away. Sitting up on his elbow, Martin called, "You made the right decision! Your girl, Mary, would've appreciated that!"
At the sound of the name, Mary, Will stopped. His finger twitched and he started to slowly turn around. It was one thing to not even know her name, but to forget it so easily and that quickly, Will figured it was unforgivable. Raising the USP, Will pulled the trigger. Forced by the pull of the trigger, a bullet discharged itself from the USP's chamber and headed towards Martin's head. It flew through the air and tore through flesh and bone as it made contact with Martin. Still alive, he felt the coldness of the bullet turn warm just as it entered his brain and penetrated it. Red liquid flung out the exit wound as Martin's head collapsed into a puddle of blood and rain water.
Lowering the gun, Will austerely stared at Martin's corpse and sullenly said, "Her name was Maya." He looked back at Martin's dead body for a second then turned away and headed down the alley.
New York FBI Field Office
The door to Chambers' office opened and Robert Cole walked out. He and Chambers shook hands one last time before Cole headed towards the exit. At his desk, Borjes walked Cole as he left.
"Borjes!" Chambers called. "My office."
Borjes looked at him with a surprised look. Surely, Cole couldn't have been there to talk to Chambers about him. Setting his coffee on the table, he walked over to Chambers' office.
"Why didn't you tell me you sought an increased security clearance to investigate our escapee?" Chambers asked once Borjes entered the room.
"Sir, I – "
"And when that failed, you received covert assistance from an NSA agent, Harold Stone?" Chambers continued.
"Agent Fowler was a friend, sir. His death – I took it personally, and I took it upon myself to find out whatever I could to find the man who killed him. I'm sorry I strayed from procedure, but – "
"No apologies necessary," Chambers interrupted him again.
Borjes was taken aback by Chambers' willingness to accept Borjes' defiance. He looked at Chambers with a questioning look and murmured, "Sir?"
"NSA? Very resourceful," Chambers said. "I'm impressed. Still this guy – what's his name – Whaley?"
"Otis Whaley."
Chambers nodded and continued, "I know Agent Stone told you Whaley's ex-FBI. What I don't know is why you went to Stone at all. I could've gotten you that information without alerting OPR."
"I'm sorry, sir, but with Burchell and Fog in the city – "
"Borjes!" Chambers sternly said. "Unlike your partner, you've got an immaculate record. Don't ruin it. Agent Marlow's made it clear she wants my job. You're former military, you respect the chain of command. Correct?"
"Yes, sir," Borjes sighed.
"Good. I want a full report on Whaley by morning." Chambers sat down on the blue revolving chair behind his desk.
"Will do," Borjes said as he turned and left Chambers' office.
Manhattan, NY
Tyler was still in Liz's apartment looking through all the search results on his father. In the last half hour, he'd probably already gone through over a dozen search results already. He clicked on another one and a news article on Carlton Fog popped up. At the top of the webpage was a photograph taken of Tyler's father and the blonde man from DC. Tyler remembered seeing him earlier in the day and wondered who he was.
"Carlton Fog with Homeland Security's Jack Freed," Tyler read. The name struck his as familiar. He kept repeating it to himself in hopes of remembering where he'd heard it. Suddenly, he remembered seeing it on the list of benefactors from the Drexler Bombing. He pulled the list out from his pocket and sifted through the names printed on it. Halfway down the list was the name Jack Freed with the word 'Sell' next to it. Turning back to the computer, he read on, "Homeland Security's Jack Freed. Former Deputy Director, FBI."
A tiny smile, a proud smile, formed on Tyler's face as he printed out the webpage. He watched as the printer beside him started to rumble to life.
Club Fervor
The taxicab Kim was riding it stopped in front of a night club in Manhattan. Kim paid the driver and exited the cab. Down the street, Marlow parked the car by the sidewalk and stepped out. She followed Kim as Kim bypassed the waiting line and entered the club called Fervor. At the club entrance, Kim handed the bouncer a couple rolled up bills for him to let her through. He nodded and opened the door for her. The people in line became restless and started shouting, but it didn't bother the bouncer one bit. Marlow appeared up next and flashed her badge to the bouncer.
Inside, the club was rather dark and filled with neon lights. The dance floor was filled to the brim with men and women provocatively dancing while the bright spotlights flashed down at them. Along the walls, Kim walked around. She knew Marlow was behind her, but that was part of the plan. As she passed by a man carrying several drinks, she turned to look at Marlow a few feet back.
Pursuing Kim through the club, Marlow looked passed the people dancing around her. Kim walked down a dark hallway and disappeared around the corner. Marlow was about to track her down, but Jay appeared behind her and interrupted her pursuit.
"Agent Marlow!" he shouted over the din of music. In his hand was the handgun he and Tyler found in Will's lock box.
Marlow turned around and faced Jay. He had a determined look on his face as he trained the gun on her at his waist. Marlow lightly chuckled; she had been duped.
"I don't wanna hurt you," Jay said. "I just wanna talk!"
"I'm listening," Marlow replied.
"We didn't have anything to do with the Drexler Bombing. We were set up, and I have proof!"
Using Liz's telephone, Tyler made a call to Kim. As Kim exited the club, she heard her phone ringing in her purse. She grabbed it and put it to her ear. Upon hearing Kim's voice, Tyler quickly said, "Kim!"
"Wait. You're breaking up. I'll call you back," Kim faked. She hung her cellphone up quickly and ran across the street to a payphone. Sticking several quarters in it, she called back Tyler. "Are you crazy? My phone's tapped!"
"Wait, Kim, listen to me! There's this guy – Jack Freed. He's FBI, he used to Deputy Director for God's sake. Okay. Now, I think-I know he's messed up in this!" Tyler stated.
"What?"
"He's on a list of people who sold Holloway stock the day before the Drexler."
"Tyler…"
"Listen, my father is working with the FBI trying to have us killed. Now, before I took off, Jay said he was gonna to the FBI. Now, you can't let him do that!" Tyler told Kim.
"No. It's too late!" Kim replied, starting to get a bit worried.
"What are you talking about?"
"He's already meeting with Agent Marlow at Club Fervor," Kim informed him. She put her hand to her forehead and blinked her eyes repeatedly.
"On 14th?"
"Yeah. Yeah."
"Okay, I'm going there," Tyler said before hanging up. He turned around to grab his hoodie and jacket, but instead found Liz staring right at him.
"Oh my God," she murmured. A stunned expression came over her face as she finally figured out who Tyler was. His face was printed on the newspaper sitting on her coffee table. "It is you…"
Tyler brushed passed her and grabbed his clothes. He put on the gray hoodie and carried the black jacket as he opened the door. Keeping his eyes on Liz, Tyler walked out the apartment. "Sorry," he whispered before shutting the door.
Club Fervor
"Looks like you got it all figured out. I gotta hand it to ya; Burchell, not a bad place to meet – loud, dark. You lured me here; you and your girlfriend make a good team," Marlow applauded.
"Kim had nothin' to do with this!" Jay told Marlow as he slapped the list of sellers along with Will's collection of passports on the table between him and Marlow. "It was my idea."
Marlow reached forward for the papers and passports and looked them over. She skimmed over the list and wondered, "What's this?"
"Names of people who sold Holloway Insurance – people who benefited from the Drexler Bombing!" Jay answered, "And a few of Will Traveler's fake passports."
Opening one of the passports, Marlow looked at the name and the picture. Slightly impressed, she chuckled for a second. "I see," she said.
Elsewhere in the club, Kim had made her way back in. She tried to push through the growing crowd of club-goers, but it was like swimming upriver.
"That's nothin'," Jay replied, though. In his fingers, Jay held up the memory card enclosed in a plastic case. "This is a recording of a man named Joseph telling Will to blow up the Drexler, saying he should frame Tyler and me for doing it, and that the Drexler is just the first step in a much larger plan!"
"It's all very interesting, Jay," Marlow stated. She picked up the memory card then put it back down. "This could exonerate you." Marlow noticed Jay starting to lower his guard. He was beginning to feel comfortable, but unfortunately for him, Marlow still had orders. Once she saw him bring his gun down, she reached for it and twisted it out of his hand. Tossing it against the wall, she withdrew her own 9 mm and shouted, "Turn around and place your hands on your head!"
On the opposite side the dance floor, Kim was standing beside the electric box. From there, she watched Jay and Marlow's exchange. Worry took over her as she watched Marlow turn the tables on her boyfriend. Quickly, she unzipped her boot and reached for something hidden inside.
"Look, I told you we've been set up!" Jay claimed, raising his hands in front of him. "Just listen to that recording!"
"Unfortunately this about more than just the Drexler now!" Marlow said as Jay turned around. "You're suspected of murder, not to mention the kidnapping of Tyler's business school friend, Eddie Hahn!"
Across the room, Kim stabbed something into the electric box. In less than a second, the entire club died. The lights turned off, the music died down, and everything and everyone was entrapped in shadows. People all around the club began to panic and question what was happening.
"Jay, don't move!" Marlow ordered as soon as the lights blacked out.
The emergency generator kicked in a few seconds later as a man instructed, "Everybody, stay calm!"
Nevertheless, everyone in the club lost their nerves and rush for the door. Like stampeding bulls, they all headed for the nearest exits. Marlow kept her gun trained on Jay, but a woman running by knocked the gun out of her hands. The next thing she saw was Jay running away from her, melding into the panicking clubbers.
Outside Fervor, Tyler appeared at the entrance and looked on as everyone rushed out. He turned around and saw a pair of cops coming towards the club. So as to hide his identity, he looked away and kept his back to them. The cops' radios came to life with the sound of an operator's voice.
"Ten-thirteen. Suspect Jay Burchell has been spotted at Club Fervor. I repeat: suspect Jay Burchell has been spotted at Club Fervor."
Tyler's eyes went wide and he charged into the club as rain started to fall over him. Shoving aside anyone that got in his way, he headed inside. The two police men pushed their way in as well, shining their flashlights around the shadowed building. Inside the club, there were still several people running about. Tyler stood in the center of the dance floor, looking around any sign of Jay. No one in the club looked anything like Jay; they were either too skinny or too fat, or too tall or too short. Tyler's heart began to race as he spun in circles searching for his friend. He looked over at one of the exits to see one of the two cops heading out into the back of the club by himself.
In the alley behind the club, Jay ran out through the back exit. He started down one end of the alley, but a police car came to a screeching halt right in front of him. Coming to a startled stop, he turned around and headed up the other end as another patrol car drove passed behind him. Although Jay was fast and his legs carry him, he was forced to stop as he heard the click of a gun behind him.
"Freeze!" Marlow barked as she appeared out from the club. "Put your hands where I can see them!"
Heavily breathing, Jay raised his arms in the air and morosely turned around. Marlow kept her gun pointed at Jay, but her eyes widened and an astounded look crossed her face as she saw Tyler dragging a cop out from Club Fervor. It was the young rookie that had gone into the club with his partner. Tyler had him in his grasp with his own gun pointed at the bottom of his head.
"You drop the gun!" Tyler ordered Marlow.
His hands still in the air, Jay turned around to Tyler. He had never been happier in his life to see him. However, he was a bit confused as to how Tyler got into this situation.
Tyler glared at Marlow and pressed his gun against the cop's neck. "I said, drop your gun!"
"Tyler!" Jay yelled to him.
"C'mon, Tyler, let this man go and surrender peacefully! We can straighten this out!" Marlow said.
"Jay, she's lying! They're in on this!" Tyler retorted.
"What are you talkin' about?" Jay asked, obviously clueless.
"Jay, you have ton believe me. The FBI's involved! I have proof!" Tyler told him. Looking over at Marlow, he saw her grimace at him. "See! She knows!"
"Jay, what I know is that you were telling the truth about Will Traveler. We've got him on video! I know you were telling the truth about Will and I think you might be telling the truth about the Drexler! Now with the evidence you showed me tonight – "
"Jay, you don't believe her! Jay, you have to trust me!" Tyler shouted. He then turned to Marlow and demanded, "Now, you do what I say and you drop the gun!" as he shoved the barrel of his gun at the policeman's neck. A frightened expression appeared on the cop's face as Tyler unsteadily held the gun against him.
Holding Jay at gunpoint, Marlow countered, "C'mon, Tyler, you're not going to shoot anyone!"
From the side, behind a large green dumpster, a black handgun appeared positioned at Marlow's head. Will showed himself to Marlow and his two friends – if he could still call them that, that is – and said, "No, but I will!"
Marlow snapped her head to the left and gazed at Will. She stared into the black hole that was barrel of his gun and sighed. Will kept his gun trained on her as he glanced over at Jay and Tyler. Speechless expressions pervaded their faces as they stared back at the friend they had lost, who had betrayed them. They could practically hear Will's disconsolate goodbye before hearing the sound of the erupting museum that launched them on this grim journey.